India’s plan to take millions of old gas-guzzling cars and pollution-belching trucks and buses off the roads may be stymied by a lack of incentives for owners and infrastructure to recycle the vehicles.
As part of efforts to tackle the nation’s life-shortening air pollution, cars more than 20 years old and commercial vehicles more than 15 years old will need to undergo fitness tests, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in the Feb. 1 budget. The program could cover around 5.2 million passenger vehicles and 3.7 million commercial vehicles, according to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations.
Automakers are also counting on the plan to boost sales, which have been smashed by a widespread fall in demand amid the pandemic-induced recession, and after lockdowns shuttered showrooms and factories last year.